BSCC- Fitch Sprint

[bomma at comcast.net]

A big piece of Corvair history heading to the auction block.   Read on.   Ray 'B' 

----- Original Message -----

John Fitch’s one-off Corvair-based Fitch Phoenix to cross the block 
  


1 
John Fitch with his Fitch Phoenix in 2009. Photo by the author. 

As recently as a few years ago, John Fitch still entertained thoughts of putting his Fitch Phoenix sports car into production, giving its name a literal backing. He asked people on the streets whether the design still had its appeal, and he believed any modern front-wheel-drive drivetrain would work well in it. Those dreams apparently died with Fitch in 2012, however, and now his Phoenix will head to auction. 

Built in 1966, Fitch’s Phoenix came about as a progression of the work he’d already put in over the previous few years modifying Chevrolet Corvairs. Based out of a shop in Falls Village, Connecticut, Fitch not only offered components to improve the handling and power output of the rear-engined air-cooled sedans, he also converted Corvairs over to Fitch Sprint specifications, adding his own homebrew quad-carburetor system, shortened steering arms, stiffer rear springs, a steering damper and radial tires. Looking to build a track version of the Sprint, one that would conceivably compete in a dedicated racing class, he then built a prototype Super Sprint, which used Sprint running gear hung from a custom chassis and draped in a fiberglass semi-open wheel two-seat body. 

When that venture fell through, however, Fitch decided to repurpose the bones of the Super Sprint into a road-going sports car – one that could be serviced just about anywhere in the United States with easy-to-obtain replacement parts, but could still make its way around a road course without embarrassing itself. To do so, he enlisted the help of Coby Whitmore, with whom Fitch had years earlier collaborated on the Fitch-Whitmore Jaguar , to design the car and Intermeccanica in Turin to build the car in one-millimeter-thick steel. Like the Super Sprint, the Phoenix (“The name… was considered kind of daring, with its association with destruction by fire,” Fitch explained to Kit Foster for a story in Special Interest Autos ) used Corvair underpinnings – specifically a chassis from a 1965 Corvair (specifically a Corsa two-door hardtop sport coupe, according to its chassis number) with its wheelbase shortened from 108 inches to 95 and fitted with Fitch Sprint suspension upgrades – and a 140-cu.in. Corvair flat-six engine tuned to produce 160 horsepower. It didn’t, however, meet all the specifications Fitch originally laid out. Instead of a target weight of 2,000 pounds, it came in at 2,150 pounds; and to meet a July deadline to finish the car, Fitch omitted the planned disc brakes and a carburetor setup that would have wrung another 10 horsepower from the engine. 

1 
Photo courtesy Bonhams. 

Even so, the Phoenix still packed in plenty of features, including an integral roll bar, targa top, dual full-size spares, ventilated leather seats, and all the handling capabilities of his Fitch Sprints. His business plan called for building 500 Phoenixes – with bodies built by Intermeccanica and shipped to Falls Village for final assembly – at a cost of $8,700 apiece, and Fitch took about 100 orders for it before that September, when the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act became law. Though it wouldn’t take effect until January 1, 1968, the Act  – meant to ensure that all cars sold in the United States conformed to a host of safety standards – didn’t initially include any provisions for small manufacturers like Fitch, so Fitch decided to refund all deposits and cancel the Phoenix project, keeping the one driveable prototype for himself. 

1 1 1 1 
Photos courtesy Bonhams. 

When we spoke with Fitch in 2009 about the Phoenix, he said that he had been in talks with an unnamed collector about selling the Phoenix, but he insisted on retaining the rights to it, should he ever decide to try again to put it into production. When he died in October 2012 , however, the Phoenix remained in the garage at his 1767 colonial in Lime Rock, Connecticut, just a couple miles from where he originally assembled the Phoenix, less than 24,000 miles showing on its odometer. 

In the years since Fitch’s death, the Consulier GTP that he drove has since been put up for sale for $375,000 – an asking price no doubt inflated by the car’s association with the legendary driver. Bonhams, which will offer the Fitch Phoenix at its Greenwich auction, has put a more modest pre-auction estimate on the Phoenix of $150,000 to $200,000. 

The Bonhams Greenwich auction will take place June 1. For more information, visit Bonhams.com . 



1 
John Fitch with his Fitch Phoenix in 2009. Photo by the author. 

As recently as a few years ago, John Fitch still entertained thoughts of putting his Fitch Phoenix sports car into production, giving its name a literal backing. He asked people on the streets whether the design still had its appeal, and he believed any modern front-wheel-drive drivetrain would work well in it. Those dreams apparently died with Fitch in 2012, however, and now his Phoenix will head to auction. 

Built in 1966, Fitch’s Phoenix came about as a progression of the work he’d already put in over the previous few years modifying Chevrolet Corvairs. Based out of a shop in Falls Village, Connecticut, Fitch not only offered components to improve the handling and power output of the rear-engined air-cooled sedans, he also converted Corvairs over to Fitch Sprint specifications, adding his own homebrew quad-carburetor system, shortened steering arms, stiffer rear springs, a steering damper and radial tires. Looking to build a track version of the Sprint, one that would conceivably compete in a dedicated racing class, he then built a prototype Super Sprint, which used Sprint running gear hung from a custom chassis and draped in a fiberglass semi-open wheel two-seat body. 

When that venture fell through, however, Fitch decided to repurpose the bones of the Super Sprint into a road-going sports car – one that could be serviced just about anywhere in the United States with easy-to-obtain replacement parts, but could still make its way around a road course without embarrassing itself. To do so, he enlisted the help of Coby Whitmore, with whom Fitch had years earlier collaborated on the Fitch-Whitmore Jaguar , to design the car and Intermeccanica in Turin to build the car in one-millimeter-thick steel. Like the Super Sprint, the Phoenix (“The name… was considered kind of daring, with its association with destruction by fire,” Fitch explained to Kit Foster for a story in Special Interest Autos ) used Corvair underpinnings – specifically a chassis from a 1965 Corvair (specifically a Corsa two-door hardtop sport coupe, according to its chassis number) with its wheelbase shortened from 108 inches to 95 and fitted with Fitch Sprint suspension upgrades – and a 140-cu.in. Corvair flat-six engine tuned to produce 160 horsepower. It didn’t, however, meet all the specifications Fitch originally laid out. Instead of a target weight of 2,000 pounds, it came in at 2,150 pounds; and to meet a July deadline to finish the car, Fitch omitted the planned disc brakes and a carburetor setup that would have wrung another 10 horsepower from the engine. 

1 
Photo courtesy Bonhams. 

Even so, the Phoenix still packed in plenty of features, including an integral roll bar, targa top, dual full-size spares, ventilated leather seats, and all the handling capabilities of his Fitch Sprints. His business plan called for building 500 Phoenixes – with bodies built by Intermeccanica and shipped to Falls Village for final assembly – at a cost of $8,700 apiece, and Fitch took about 100 orders for it before that September, when the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act became law. Though it wouldn’t take effect until January 1, 1968, the Act  – meant to ensure that all cars sold in the United States conformed to a host of safety standards – didn’t initially include any provisions for small manufacturers like Fitch, so Fitch decided to refund all deposits and cancel the Phoenix project, keeping the one driveable prototype for himself. 

1 1 1 1 
Photos courtesy Bonhams. 

When we spoke with Fitch in 2009 about the Phoenix, he said that he had been in talks with an unnamed collector about selling the Phoenix, but he insisted on retaining the rights to it, should he ever decide to try again to put it into production. When he died in October 2012 , however, the Phoenix remained in the garage at his 1767 colonial in Lime Rock, Connecticut, just a couple miles from where he originally assembled the Phoenix, less than 24,000 miles showing on its odometer. 

In the years since Fitch’s death, the Consulier GTP that he drove has since been put up for sale for $375,000 – an asking price no doubt inflated by the car’s association with the legendary driver. Bonhams, which will offer the Fitch Phoenix at its Greenwich auction, has put a more modest pre-auction estimate on the Phoenix of $150,000 to $200,000. 

The Bonhams Greenwich auction will take place June 1. For more information, visit Bonhams.com . 


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